Dinner with the Gibsons
by I meant something like this
Summary: (LBD) Lizzie and Darcy are attending the Gibson's annual pre Thanksgiving holiday dinner.
1. Chapter 1

"I still don't understand why we have to attend this function."

Lizzie came to a stop on the Gibson's front lawn, the hold on her boyfriend's hand causing him to stop and turn to face her. She smiled at the small frown on his face, something that didn't happen so often these days, and let go of his left hand to reach up and smooth out the frown lines.

"First of all, you are making it sound like some big fancy event, when really it's just a casual gathering of friends and family. Second," she said, grabbing Will's hand again and pulling him towards the house. "My mom has been friends with Mrs Gibson for nearly twenty-five years, which of course means they are also rivals." Lizzie shook her head and smiled fondly, thinking of when her mother and Mrs Gibson used to pit Jane and Ellen against each other; music lessons, dance classes, school plays. It never worked though; both girls were just too kind to wish that the other would fail at something.

Will shook his head at her playful tone. "I still don't understand why that necessitates our presence at dinner tonight."

By now they had reached the front door, but instead of knocking, Lizzie leaned against the door and laughed lightly. "Don't you see Will? Susan Gibson may have a married daughter, but Francine Bennet has _two _daughters with very _rich _and very _handsome _boyfriends. She wants to show us off."

Upon hearing this statement, Will's frown returned in full force. "Is this supposed to be making me feel better? The only thing worse than a room full of strangers is being paraded around like a trophy in a room full of strangers."

Lizzie pushed herself off of the door and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Will, relax. It's hardly a room full of strangers. My sisters and Bing will be there, as well as Charlotte and my parents; you know dad would be more than happy to sit in silence with you for the evening. And of course you have me." She added with a large smile.

This seemed to do the trick, and Will's frown faded into a small smile, his hands slowly stroking up and down her arms. He studied her, under the light of the front porch; she was just as gorgeous as ever. Her hair had taken on a fiery, red glow in the soft, yellow light, and her eyes, normally blue, had changed to green shade to match her silky blouse. Sometimes he still couldn't believe he could call her his, even after eight months together; he didn't think he would ever stopping thanking what ever God or fate or other mysterious force it was that granted him a second chance with her.

Suddenly his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Why are you not freaking out about this? Usually by now you would be ranting about people treating others like possessions and your mothers ridiculous antiquated attitudes towards…"

"OK, firstly, I object to the word _ranting_. I merely express my opinions very… passionately." She said with a frown. "And I guess I'm okay with my mum wanting to show you off because, well," she paused a moment, trying to find the right words, hugging his waist tighter. "I feel very proud to be able to call you my boyfriend, William Darcy, and I am so happy that I just… I just want to share it with everyone." Lizzie was blushing by the end of her little speech and buried her face in Will's chest. "Ugh, that sounded so corny." The fabric of his navy blue knit jumper muffled her voice.

She felt his arms wrap tight around her, and she could almost feel the smile growing larger on his face.

"Lizzie Bennet, I also feel very proud to be able to call you my girlfriend," he pulled back and lifted her chin up; capturing her bright, green eyes with his serious, blue ones. His voice was quiet when he spoke again, "and I have never been as happy as I have been since you came into my life." Will's hands cupped her warm cheeks and he leaned in to kiss her softly.

"Ahem!"

They jumped at the sound, breaking their kiss, to see Lydia standing on the front lawn, eyebrows raised, smug smile on her face.

"You two should really tone down on the PDA, mum and dad will be coming around the corner any second now."

"Lydia, we were hardly behaving inappropriately." Lizzie blushed.

Lydia laughed. "Yeah, I suppose it isn't anything the whole Internet hasn't already seen, am I right sis?"

This caused both Lizzie and Will to blush further. Lizzie decided to ignore her baby sister's comment and turned to knock on the door, just as her parents walked up the driveway with Jane and Bing.


	2. Chapter 2

After dinner everyone split off into little groups. Will was standing with Bing by the fireplace in the formal sitting room, glass of red wine in his hand. They were both looking across the room to the couches where the Bennet sisters were talking with Charlotte and Ellen.

"How is life with Jane in New York?" He asked, using his free hand to fix his glasses back into position on his face.

It was the first time since they had arrived the night before that they had found a chance to talk alone. Mrs Bennet had kept them busy with her fussing and at times inappropriate questions about their personal lives. Then this morning they had been dragged around by their girlfriends on last minute errands for tomorrow's Thanksgiving lunch.

Bing's smile grew wider; it always did when he talked about Jane, or even thought about Jane. "It's amazing Darce. I can't imagine what my life would be like without Jane; she's just… she's perfect. Well," he said, looking at Will's raised eyebrow, "perfect for me. We're perfect for each other, I think. You know what I mean?"

Will's eyes flicked towards Lizzie for a second before resting back on Bing's smiling face, a smile of his own unable to be suppressed. "Yes, yes I think I do."

* * *

"So Jane, tell us, do you think we'll be seeing a shiny ring on that finger of yours soon?" Ellen leaned across the coffee table, giving Jane a wink.

Jane just smiled and gave a small shake of her head. "Oh no, it's a little too early for that, we've hardly been together for a whole year. Besides, Bing and I don't even live together yet."

"What." Ellen sat back in her chair, hand flying to her chest in shock. She had most definitely inherited Susan's dramatic flair. "Why ever not?"

"Well, we decided it was best to take things slow. We needed to make our own separate lives as well as one together." It was a very important rule that Jane had set when Bing decided to move to New York with her, one she still stood by, but recently she had been thinking that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to move a little faster. She just hoped she hadn't discouraged him after the last time he had suggested moving in together.

"Ok," Ellen looked at Jane thoughtfully, "but answer me honestly Jane. How many nights do you and Bing spend together?"

After a moment of hesitation, looking down at her hands clasped together in her lap, Jane answered, a deep blush appearing on her cheeks. "Every night."

"And how many of those nights are spent at _your_ apartment?" Lizzie asked with a smirk on her face. She turned to look at a laughing Lydia, who gave her a hi-five.

Jane's eyes narrowed to as close to a glare as possible for her. "I could ask _you_ the same question about you and Darcy." Turning to look at her sister's best friend she asked, "Charlotte, how often would you say Lizzie actually spends at her apartment?"

It was Lizzie's turn to blush while she turned pleading eyes to Charlotte. A small part of Jane felt satisfied that Lizzie was getting put under the spotlight now instead of her.

Charlotte grinned at Jane and answered, "Oh, I would say… probably never." This time Charlotte gave Lydia a hi-five as Ellen laughed along with her.

* * *

Waiting for Darcy to finish his mouthful of wine, Bing took a deep breath.

"I'm going to ask Jane to move in with me."

William's eyes grew wide at first, and then he smiled. "Wow, really? That's great Bing. Do you think she'll say yes this time?"

Bing had once before plucked up the courage to ask Jane to consider moving in with him, after only 2 months in New York. It had proved to be an unwise decision; they were still working on openly communicating their thoughts and feelings and learning to trust each other again, and Jane was still establishing her self at work. At the time, Bing hadn't contemplated these things. He was mostly thinking of how much he loved Jane, and how much he wanted to start their life together. But he was glad she had persisted in taking things slow. He was certain that they were both ready now.

"Yeah, I definitely think we're ready this time. I mean, we practically live together any way." He shrugged his shoulders. "What about you and Lizzie? Thinking of asking her any time soon?"

"Ha," William laughed, "that is a conversation I am not even contemplating discussing until the New Year, at the very earliest." Darcy loved everything about girlfriend, but one of the things he loved most about Lizzie was also tended to frustrate him. His profound need to care for everyone and everything around him tended to clash with her sometimes stubborn independent streak. They should have realised this would be a hurdle in their relationship; after all, they had fought almost constantly while living under the same roof at Netherfield. He had been getting better at compromising, they both had, but moving in together was something much bigger than just deciding who would pay for their meal that night. William was more than ready to have Lizzie live with him, but he wasn't quite sure she was ready to give up having her own place just yet.

Bing just laughed along with Darcy. "Yeah, Jane did mention that Lizzie could be pretty stubborn about that sort of thing, a bit like someone else I know."

A smirk appeared on Darcy's lips. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Bing was forming a reply when his eye caught a sight that melted his heart and put the biggest, goofiest grin that Darcy had ever seen on his face. He followed Bing's line of sight and shook his head when he caught what Bing was looking at. With and amused smirk on his lips, and a pat on the back, he guided Bing towards the ladies.

* * *

**Wow, it's been a very long time since I have posted on here. Life has a nasty habit of getting in the way. I have had part of this chapter and the next one typed up and planned out for ages, I just hadn't had the chance, or the motivation to finish them. Hopefully the next chapter will be up by Friday. **

**Thank you to the people who have liked, followed and reviewed this story and my others. You rock! **

**I would like to go back and make this chapter a bit better, but hopefully this will keep people satisfied for now. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry, the chapter took a little longer to finish then I first thought. It's till pretty rough but I hope you enjoy it anyway. No promises for when the next chapter will be up, but I do have it outlined, and it will be the last one for this story.**

**Thank you also to Julie and Proud Vegetable for your reviews :)**

* * *

Ellen Gibson's laughter at her friends' expense was interrupted by her husband's approach. She immediately held out her arms for the adorable, but drooling, bundle he was holding close to his chest.

"Someone was getting a bit restless, I think he needs some cuddles from mommy." Stuart said, leaning down to peck her on the cheek as he passed the baby over. He slid down next to her on the couch, stroking his son's cheek while he rested against his mother's chest, little arms clinging to the collar of her dress.

"Oh, this must be baby Ethan?" Jane asked with a small smile on her face. They were all staring in fascination at the 6 month old as he nuzzled even closer to his mother's neck.

"It's a little strange to think of you as a mother Ellen," Jane's big blue eyes grew even wider as she realised how her words might sound. "N-not that I think you aren't a great mother," she stuttered, "I'm sure you are, I just meant…"

"It's ok Jane," Ellen laughed, "I understand what you mean," she turned to share a look with her husband, "sometimes I can't believe it myself. It's a hard feeling to describe." Placing a kiss on top of Ethan's head, she then turned back to Jane. "One day soon you'll know exactly how I feel."

Jane laughed at that, "Oh no, not too soon I hope."

Ellen just shook her head. "I thought the same thing too. Would you like to hold him?"

Lizzie wouldn't have thought it possible, but Jane's smile seemed grow bigger as she nodded her head. "Yes of course." She said.

Just like many boys and men before him, Ethan was as charmed by Jane as she was by him. The smiled at each other, and Jane cooed and pulled funny faces at the little boy in her arms. Lizzie had never understood how well-spoken adults seemed to turn into babbling fools when around babies. She shook her head as Bing sat down on the arm of the chair next to Jane. At almost the same moment she felt the arm rest next to her dip down and looked up to see Will's handsome face smiling down at her. He grabbed her hand and stroked her knuckles with his thumb.

"Just couldn't keep away from me, could you?"

Will chuckled and leaned down to brush his lips gently against hers. "I always have trouble keeping myself away from you." He looked over to where Bing was now holding Ethan, and making 'googly eyes', as Lydia called them, at Jane. "Also, as soon as he saw Jane holding the baby, I couldn't have kept him away if I tried."

Charlotte caught her attention then by whispering; "It's a good thing your mom is distracted by mine right now. Could you imagine what she would say if she saw Jane and Bing holding a baby?"

Lizzie groaned. "Oh god, I don't even want to think about it. She's bad enough as it is, we don't need to ad more fuel to the fire."

They sat together for a few more minutes; talking and watching Jane and Bing play with the baby.

"Lizzie, do you want to hold him?"

There was a pause as Lizzie contemplated Jane's question. She hadn't had a lot to do with babies or small children; she preferred to deal with the ones who had a decent grasp of the English language and some actual communication skills. Jane and Lydia had always been the ones to baby-sit in their youth. The only baby she had ever held was her cousin's daughter when she was 15, and that hadn't been the most pleasant experience of her life. "I… uh…."

"Go on Lizzie, you'll be fine." Ellen encouraged her.

"O-okay." She stammered. Jane stood up and walked across to Lizzie, placing Ethan into her arms. Lizzie held her breath as she adjusted her arms, making sure she was holding him firmly. _So far, so good_, she thought, as Ethan stared up at her. He grabbed her necklace and started chewing on it. "Oh no," she cried, trying to get it away from his mouth. "That's…" She placed her necklace back down on her neck and scrunched up her nose, "… disgusting." The necklace was now covered in baby drool. Beside her she felt Will shaking the couch, trying to hold in his amusement. Finally he couldn't hold it in anymore, and he burst out laughing, closely followed by Lydia and Charlotte. Lizzie tried to scowl at Will, but the laughter was just too infectious. She was finally able to relax back into her seat and continue holding the baby as he bounced around in her arms. This was much better than her first experience with her cousin.

"Ooh, you know what you should do Lizzie. Stand him up so his feet are resting on your legs and hold his hands."

Lizzie did as Ellen suggested and smiled widely as Ethan started to dance around, bouncing up and down and making silly noises. She tried to fight the urge that was growing in her to pull a silly face and make ridiculous noises; all to continue making this tiny human in her arms laugh.

"What a clever boy you are." Lizzie cooed at him, giving in to the urge. "Yes you are."

Ethan started giggling then, and Lizzie couldn't help but laugh with him. She was completely oblivious to Charlotte's wide-eyed stare, Lydia's raised eyebrow, and especially the look in William's eye. Jane hadn't missed the wistful look in his eyes though, as he watched Lizzie cooing and laughing with Ethan.

After a few more rounds of bouncing and giggling, Lizzie started when she felt Will's arm brushing across her back softly. She looked up at him and saw that he looked a little nervous; he had tucked his chin into his chest. "Could I… would I be able to…" Lizzie's brow crinkled a moment before she finally clicked.

"You want to hold him?" she tried to keep the surprise from her voice; she didn't want it to seem like she was discouraging him.

"Uh, yes. If that's okay?" He looked to Ellen and Stuart.

"Of course it is." Stuart laughed.

Lizzie slowly stood up so that she was level with William, as he was still sitting on the arm of the chair. She couldn't help the swell of confusing and heart clenching emotions from bubbling up inside of her as she handed Ethan over to her boyfriend. He seemed a little unsure at first, and he admitted quietly to her that it was his first time holding a baby.

"Well, I'm sure I held Gigi as a baby, but I don't really remember doing it." He added with a twitch of his lip.

Bing laughed at the sight in front of him. "I never thought I'd see the day when Darcy _voluntarily _held a baby."

Neither Lizzie or Will seemed to notice that anyone had spoken; Will was too focused on the little hands that were reaching for his glasses and trying to pull them off, while Lizzie couldn't take her eyes away from Will. Lydia looked between the two of them and made a retching mime in Charlotte's direction. Charlotte just shook her head. For all that Lizzie made fun of her mother's lectures on getting married and having babies, she seemed well on her way to fulfilling that dream of Mrs Bennet's.

Lizzie continued to watch in awe as Will pulled his glasses off and handed them to Ethan to chew on. Will; who couldn't deal with a people not using coasters with their coffee mugs, who had to sanitise his hands after every time he used money, and who wouldn't go back to their local cinema after something on the floor made his designer shoes sticky, that same Will was letting this child slobber all over his $400 glasses like it was no big deal.

Eventually, Lydia got her attention by pulling her back down on to the couch.

"Careful Lizzie, or mom will see you making eyes at Darceface and the baby, and we'll never hear the end of it on the way home." She said with a smirk. "You wouldn't subject your poor baby sister to that would you?"

Putting her arm around Lydia, Lizzie smiled. "Of course not. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."

Their laughter was disrupted by a sudden cry from Ethan. Will looked slightly terrified at the crying baby in his arms, who was only moments ago happily chewing away on his glasses. Ellen grabbed him with a reassuring smile and took him upstairs to put him to bed.


End file.
